Starting Cultivation in Wasteland

Qu Jianlei is not someone who forgets pain after a meal, knowingly facing a spiritual attack that would harm him, yet he continues to resist head-on.

Mainly because he sensed that the opponent’s spiritual power... should not have reached supreme level yet.

At least it’s much weaker than the spiritual power that occupied Adolf’s body, and it’s not even pure.

That spiritual power couldn’t even devour him, this one should be even weaker, right?

Anyway, he already lost his physical body, if he had one he might hesitate, but now there’s really no need to consider.

Since they are already enemies, if he can get rid of them, he will, to avoid potentially affecting his teammates outside.

As the spiritual power collided with that soul body, a scream echoed, and that soul body exploded instantly.

"Damn..." Qu Jianlei let out a muffled groan, staggering forward, almost falling to the ground.

"You!" Paranoid didn’t expect that the leader would launch a second spiritual attack, "What the hell!"

"Can’t let them get away," Qu Jianlei said through gritted teeth while taking a deep breath.

"Five seconds to clean up the battlefield, then carry me out!"

Cleaning up the battlefield was a must, found nothing at Adolf’s place, but here is the ghost cultivator’s real hideout.

Paranoid glanced at him and, seeing that he could still hold on, decisively released his perception, searching around.

He knew very well that with Little Lake in control of the system, it didn’t matter if he made a bit of noise.

As for the leader... as long as he can withstand it, a real warrior doesn’t bother with idle chatter.

Five seconds was short, but just as time was about to run out, Qu Jianlei let out another faint groan.

"Alright, it’s over," Paranoid’s figure flickered, darting to his side, reaching out to grab him, "You pauper!"

"I can do it myself," Qu Jianlei’s figure also flickered, rushing towards the door with an extremely elusive body technique, "Hurry up!"

The commotion in the guard room wasn’t small, already catching the attention of the guards.

However, the Corpse Pool was outside the research institute’s walls, and their combat speed was swift.

When they retreated, a few lights had already swept over, and voices could be heard, but they hadn’t had time to arrive yet.

In this environment, it was really not difficult for the two of them to retreat.

On the way, Paranoid even had the mood to ask, "Why did you groan again later?"

"The lost spiritual power came back," Qu Jianlei replied casually, "Anyway, it’s a bit uncomfortable."

Recovering the lost spiritual power is certainly a good thing, but it’s still necessary to watch out for hidden tricks.

Qu Jianlei is a very confident person, but he knows nothing about ghost cultivator’s means, and must be prepared in advance.

"Good thing," Paranoid remarked casually, then asked again, "That soul body of Setan dispersed, right?"

"Dispersed," Qu Jianlei said a bit strangely, "Can’t you perceive it? That shouldn’t be."

Nonetheless, Paranoid’s curiosity lay elsewhere, "Then what was the first groan for?"

No way, no one ever heard of someone cultivating like this, it’s only natural to be curious.

"Sigh," Qu Jianlei sighed upon hearing this, "Don’t mention it."

After rendezvousing with the main team, they decisively retreated in circles.

Seeing Qu Jianlei looking dispirited, everyone barely communicated on the road.

Upon teleporting back to Central City, Paranoid announced the results of the battle.

The awakened controlling the soul body was killed, and the leader reclaimed his lost spiritual power.

However, the spoils... unfortunately, there was only a storage talisman, with nothing substantial inside—crucially, no cultivation technique.

He didn’t think highly of Setan, believing he was at most an A-level, only having learned some aura suppression techniques.

As for why an A-level could control a supreme soul body... they really didn’t find any cultivation method, no idea what secret technique it was.

Flower Scorpion saw the leader’s bad complexion and asked, "Are you alright?"

"I’m fine," Qu Jianlei shook his head with a bitter smile, "It was just a passive soul search."

Passive soul search isn’t the same as being soul searched; when he shattered Setan’s soul, countless information rushed into his mind.

Qu Jianlei truly didn’t anticipate this, as ingenious as he was, he had never even performed a soul search.

Such an unprepared move, even for someone supreme, couldn’t instantly accept someone’s entire life experience.

Fortunately, he had a Big Head Butterfly in his mind and quickly instructed Little Lake to help process it.

But Little Lake couldn’t directly absorb human memories and needed Qu Jianlei to act as an intermediary.

The relay speed was fast, which is how Qu Jianlei regained mobility within five seconds, escaping with his own strength.

The opponent’s memories had now been sorted, but unfortunately: too many fragments.

Soul memory flooding is rough and unreasonable, but at the same time, it can’t stop the dispersal of memory fragments.

Qu Jianlei absorbed a large portion of the memories, but some were lost.

Little Lake, being highly intelligent, diligently organized them, yet still missed quite a bit.

Qu Jianlei didn’t mention having a Big Head Butterfly in his head; his first statement was, "This person was not Setan."

This person’s name is Ke Zhe, currently not even ninety, a water attribute A-level who replaced Setan’s identity long ago.

The key point isn’t this. The key point is: Ke Zhe’s ghost cultivation techniques were taught to him by a Supreme being.

In other words, Qu Jianlei and his group were busy all night, but they still couldn’t find the real mastermind!

Speaking of which, Qu Jianlei reached out to the Paranoid, "Let me see that Storage Talisman."

After receiving the Storage Talisman, he sensed it and shook his head with a smile, "There are still some good things inside."

The Paranoid, who was digesting the newly received news, perked up upon hearing this, "What good things?"

Qu Jianlei replied casually, "A Soul Container... wouldn’t you say that’s valuable?"

"A Soul Container?" The Paranoid’s eyes lit up, "Which one is it?"

"You keep it for now," Qu Jianlei handed the Storage Talisman back, "Its durability has decreased significantly; you’re just holding it for the team."

"Of course," the Paranoid accepted the Storage Talisman with a grin. Just being the keeper of such treasure was enough for him.

At least with equal need, he could get first dibs. It’s not like he would refuse to save someone.

"If anyone has similar needs, feel free to find me."

"Can we speak more optimistically?" Granny Jia furrowed her eyebrows and then looked at Qu Jianlei, "Which Supreme is it?"

"I don’t know," Qu Jianlei shook his head and sighed helplessly, "But it should be on Xueye Star."

Qinghu also spoke, which was rare, "Is there any memory of the Cultivation Technique?"

Qu Jianlei could only smile wryly, "The memory of the Cultivation Technique is incomplete; there’s nothing to be done."

Qinghu nodded, "Indeed, memory transmission is prone to accidents, especially since you’re passive."

Any Awakener knows that incomplete Cultivation Techniques can’t be cultivated.

Qu Jianlei’s calculation ability is extremely strong, but even he only dares to calculate something like incomplete Array Maps.

Arrays aren’t feared if they go wrong as long as you can adjust them anytime and ensure the final effect, just wasting some resources and time.

With an incomplete Cultivation Technique, who knows how many people would die during adjustments.

Qu Jianlei’s accomplishments in Cultivation Techniques are only through extensive referencing and improvements, absolutely not by calculating incomplete Cultivation Techniques.

However, the Paranoid’s eyes shifted, "It’s very difficult to uncover that Supreme?"

Qu Jianlei shook his head, "There are some clues, but it will take time... Keep going?"

"Of course," the other three Supremes replied in unison.

Qinghu was especially clear, "If Fireburst can escape with its soul, we should at least take a look at such techniques even if we don’t learn them."

Qu Jianlei realized that though ghost cultivation techniques are bizarre, their research on souls is profound.

Imperial Awakeners are sorely lacking in this area of research.

So he’s now aware that even if he points out the many flaws in ghost cultivation, it won’t dampen everyone’s enthusiasm.

Who can resist the temptation of the soul continuing to exist even after the physical body is destroyed?

Qu Jianlei pondered for a while and then spoke, "The confidentiality requirement... won’t be a problem, right?"

"Of course," Qinghu declared without hesitation, "If anyone leaks it, I will hunt them down!"

Saying this in front of Granny Jia and the Paranoid truly takes courage.

"Alright, don’t take it so seriously," the Paranoid chuckled, "We can at least negotiate passing it down to direct descendants, right?"

Granny Jia commented, "Leakers are fools; the Empire will try to get more... essentially hurting themselves."

"Alright then," Qu Jianlei nodded, "Let’s rest for two days, then continue with the next step."

"Wait," the Paranoid stopped Qu Jianlei, then made a lightning gesture, "Should we call Bentley over?"

The encounter at night had left him quite apprehensive. He wasn’t afraid of a life-or-death struggle but feared being trapped unknowingly.

If they could bring in another Advanced Electromagnetic Awakener, it would be more secure.

"Don’t call him," Qu Jianlei shook his head, "He’s wasted years looking for us, and he doesn’t have much time left to push for the Supreme level."

At these words, everyone fell silent.

After a while, the Paranoid suggested, "Search those memories to see if there’s any countermeasure."

"I only skimmed through them," Qu Jianlei replied with a smile, "I found some inspiration, so I’ve decided to take a risk."

Two days passed in a flash, and everyone, not very exhausted to start with, recovered quite easily.

The Paranoid went to find Qu Jianlei for the plan but was told by Flower Scorpion that the leader was calculating ways to handle the unknown Supreme.

The Paranoid pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Makes sense," before turning away.

Honestly, with his behavior, even Mu Yu would wonder if he’d been possessed.

The esteemed Chao Yun senior, easily stopped by an A-level’s single sentence and so agreeable?

Everyone waited another five days before Qu Jianlei appeared, his body emitting a spicy aroma.

"What’s that smell," Granny Jia couldn’t stand the odor, "What have you been doing?"

"Just some preparations," Qu Jianlei answered casually, then spoke seriously.

"The other’s roots have been exposed. It’s someone named Lund; does anyone know him?"